Prisoner of War
by Sheepchi
Summary: COMPLETE AU Intelligent humans are dangerous. HieiOC
1. Notes

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**Prisoner of War**

**A fic by Sheepchi**

**Author's note: **No, I haven't abandoned Forgotten. I'm going to post the last chapter on May 5, just like I said I would, and I'll decide sometime after that date whether or not there will be a sequel. Don't go crazy. Ok, so this is kind of an experimental fic for me. Here's how it works: the fic is a series of chapters and interludes (which will be some definitions). Each interlude directly connects to the theme of the chapter that follows it. Because of the way this fic will be set up, this will probably be the only author's note through the whole thing (until the final reviewer recognitions at the end). I hope you enjoy this fic.

Sheepchi

**DISCLAIMER:** **I'll only say this ONCE: I DO NOT OWN YU YU HAKUSHO.**

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	2. Prelude: Breach

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**Prisoner of War**

_**Prelude:**_

**Breach: to break through; a violation of law, obligation or standard

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	3. Fall

**Prisoner of War**

**Part One: Fall

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It started in the Americas. Skyscrapers in the large cities crumbling, an attempt of exodus by the citizens, all of the stereotypical signs of an oncoming apocalypse. No one could be really certain how it had happened—especially not the masterminds of Rekai. One would think that a mass migration of yokai to the human world would be obvious and, therefore, preventable.

In this case, one would be wrong.

The Americas fell almost instantly. Then Europe. Asia. Africa. The islands. Everything. Within two months, the entirety of Ningenkai had fallen to the control of the yokai lords. Millions of humans were slaughtered—who would turn down such an accessible food source?—but a rare few found themselves in the custody of the yokai. Whether or not these individuals were lucky or unfortunate could not be said.

The final battle against Reikai was remarkably short: the larger and stronger armies of yokai plowed through the best of the Reikai forces. Within a week, the leader of the yokai, Mukuro, had Enma-Daioh's head on a spike displayed at the gateway to her residence.

There were still some rebels to be dealt with—there are always rebels when one person controls entire continents. But that was what these executions were for.

As the executioner's blade dropped onto the neck of the last of the exorcists in the area, the crowd of yokai gathered around let out a series of cheers; Mukuro and her right hand man watched the carnage from the balcony of her new fortress.

"It's pathetic, Hiei, isn't it?" she said, smirking at the bloodshed. "All these years, no one before me had been able to find a way into the human world. It was so simple all along, and no one thought of it."

"No one ever looks in the obvious places," Hiei replied coolly.

"True," the ruler said. "Quite true."

The blade dropped again, this time onto a doctor.

"They're destroyed so easily," Mukuro mumbled. "But still, they're dangerous."

Hiei glanced over to his superior. "What makes you say that?"

"The intelligent ones. They're smarter than we think they are. That doctor. He'd found a way to bind the powers of A class yokai. He was working on something for S class. We doubt them because we have more strength than they do, but we underestimate their wit. Intelligent humans are dangerous. That's all there is to it. Intelligent humans are our only threat."

"Interesting."

Another execution—a teacher this time.

"They team up with each other," Mukuro continued, narrowing her eyes. "There's still a small pack of them that we have yet to find."

"But that's being taken care of, isn't it?"

"Oh, yes. We've caught one of them. A girl. But there's been some difficulty getting her to talk."

"You seem to be taking her silence well; isn't her refusal to speak a problem?"

A smirk creased Mukuro's face. "She'll talk. She'll just have to be broken first."

The blade sliced a final time as the sun went down in a blaze of red.

"Enough for one day, I think," the ruler sighed. "Come, we have quite a bit to discuss before tomorrow's meeting with that girl."

Mukuro turned on her heel and ambled through the door and into the pale yellow light of her fortress, Hiei following her.

* * *

A child curled up on the damp, dirty floor of the dungeon cell, whimpering and crying in her sleep. Her tears left streaks on her thin and dirty face.

"Momma…" she mumbled. "Momma? Momma!"

A teenage girl crept over to the child's side, picking the little girl up from the floor and holding her and brushing strands of her chocolate hair away from her eyes. "Amrie," the teenager whispered, "wake up, sweetheart, you're having a nightmare."

The little girl opened her cerulean eyes cautiously, waiting for the object of her nightmares to sneak out from a dark corner and attack her. "Calai?" the child sniffled.

"Yeah, sweetie, it's me," the teenager whispered, smiling softly.

"I saw my momma," the child muttered. "They were hurting her again."

Calai wrapped her arms tighter around the little girl. "They can't hurt your mom anymore, Amrie."

"I know," the child sniffed. "I don't like it here."

"Neither do I."

"When can we leave here?"

"I don't know, sweetie."

"I want to go home. I want to see my momma again."

"You will one day, Amrie. I promise. One day we'll get out of here."

"Soon?"

Calai smiled. "Yeah. Really soon. Now go back to sleep."

The little girl smiled. She gave her elder friend a hug, then curled up against her stomach and drifted to sleep once again.

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**End Part One**


	4. Interlude: Stratagem

**Prisoner of War**

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Interlude

**Stratagem: a scheme for achieving some purpose

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	5. Escape

**Prisoner of War**

**Part Two: Escape**

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Sharp light hit Calai's eyes as the grill on her cell door opened.

"Get up," the guard demanded. "Now."

The grill slammed shut; Calai twitched, trying not to let the noise interfere with her already fitful and interrupted sleep.

A metallic creak signified the opening of her cell. Her guard's boots pounded against the floor as he crossed to room to her sleeping form.

"I said get _up_," the guard growled, kicking the girl in the ribs and causing her to roll across the floor of the cell.

Calai pulled herself into a sitting position, her haunting grey eyes narrowed in contempt. "Why does she bother?" Calai demanded softly. "She pulls me out of here once a week hoping that I'll talk, but I never do. Why is she still wasting her time?"

The guard crossed the room in a few quick steps; when he reached the girl, he wrapped a thick, leathery hand around her neck. "Mukuro thinks you know something," the guard hissed. "And you're going to see her as long as you have to until you tell her what she wants to know."

"Then I'll be seeing her for the rest of my life," Calai whispered.

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The guard tossed Calai's petite form onto the marble floor in front of Mukuro and Hiei and then kicked her in the ribs again.

"Calai," Mukuro stated, her tone laced with loathing. "It's been a while since you've graced my presence."

"Not long enough," the girl muttered under her breath. The guard made to kick her again, but she dodged the blow, if only by inches.

"As friendly as ever, I see," the ruler frowned, dismissing the guard with a wave of her hand. "Stand up, girl."

Reluctantly, Calai stood, allowing Hiei his first true glimpse of her appearance. She was horribly thin—it was impossible to tell when she had last eaten properly—and diminutive. Dark brown tresses framed her pale face, trailing down to the small of her back. But most engaging about her was her large, glittering grey eyes. Like melted silver.

"Now," Mukuro smirked, "you already know what I'm going to ask you. So why don't you spare us both some time and tell me what I want to know, hm?"

The human girl remained silent.

"I warn you Calai," Mukuro said dangerously. "I am not known for my patience."

Calai still did not speak.

Mukuro released a stream of energy from her hand, tossing Calai across the room with it.

"What was that supposed to make me tell you?" the girl questioned quietly. "If I don't want you to know where my partners are hiding, you won't know."

"Like hell I won't," Mukuro hissed, stalking towards Calai.

It seems an appropriate time to mention that, while Calai was a great many things, stupid was not one of them. Perhaps that's why, when she saw Mukuro coming towards her, she ran.

Fast.

The guards came after her. She wasn't sure how she managed it, but she evaded them all, though several of the attacks they sent her way flew true and hit their target. By the time she reached the woods outside Mukuro's fortress, she was in blood and panting heavily.

She stopped for the briefest of moments to catch her breath and then began to run once again.

She wasn't going back there again.

At least, not as a prisoner.

* * *

"Unbelievable!" Mukuro exclaimed. "I can't believe that of seven sentinels, not _one_ of them could find her!"

"The guards for the humans have always been pathetic," Hiei stated coolly.

"But she's only a human!"

"You said yourself that we shouldn't underestimate them," the fire yokai smirked.

Mukuro paused thoughtfully. "That's true."

A dark smile spread across her marred features.

"I know exactly who I'll send after her."

"Who?"

"You."

"What the hell? You're sending me after a _human_?"

"There's no way that she can elude you. You know better than any of my other men how humans think. With you after her, she'll be back in a day."

"But—"

"Hiei, you're my second in command. If I can't depend on you, who can I depend on?"

* * *

Amrie sat curled up in the corner of her cell. It was just her cell now. Calai was gone; probably dead by now. Tears were pouring out of the child's eyes, but she made no sound, knowing that doing so would only draw the less than kind attention of the guards to her.

"Amrie?" a voice whispered. "Amrie, can you hear me?"

The child could not believe her ears. "Calai?"

"Yep," Calai smiled. "You ready to get out of there?"

A smile spread across the child's delicate features. "Yeah."

"Okay. Stay put for a second; I'll be right back."

Calai snuck away from the cell window to retrieve the knife she had found in the woods. Knife in hand she began to crawl back to the cell to rescue the child, but before she could start carving at the bars on the window, she felt the touch of cold steel against her neck.

"Well," a cool and sardonic baritone voice from behind her stated, "who'd have thought that you'd come back here?"

Calai's eyes widened with an emotion that she seldom showed.

Fear.

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End Part Two.**


	6. Interlude: Threat

**Prisoner of War**

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Interlude:

**Threat: an expression of intention to inflict evil

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	7. Rebuke

**Prisoner of War**

**Part Three: Rebuke**

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Daily threats can force a person to become a great actor. And Calai must have become one, for she managed to keep a façade of calm detachment up even then. An onlooker would have seen a pillar of strength.

Calai's mind, however, was in chaos mode.

And Hiei knew it.

"You want me to talk," Calai said coldly. "That won't happen."

The yokai gave no response—either he hadn't heard her statement, or he had expected it and didn't care. The latter is far more likely.

"Just go ahead and kill me," she said. "That's what she's going to do anyways, isn't it? Even if I tell you all I know, she'll have me killed. Right?"

"Maybe," Hiei replied. "That's not my decision."

"I'll die before I talk."

"And we'll catch another one of you and get the information from them. You can't win this. One person can't stop genocide."

"But they can slow it down."

Hiei raised an eyebrow, and an all but imperceptible smirk tugged at his lips. This girl was just more proof that humans were naïve and foolhardy. Just another assurance that Mukuro was right to destroy them. The yokai placed a hand on the human girl's shoulder, turning her to face him and repositioning his blade above her heart.

He could've killed her then. And he probably would have, were it not for a small change.

"Calai? Calai are you still out there?"

Releasing the faintest gasp, Calai's head snapped to the barred window that Amrie was standing behind, waiting to be released. Warily, she turned her melted silver eyes back to her yokai captor.

"Calai, there's no one around; I checked. It's safe."

The cell was quite spacious, as it had once been the home fifty some humans; the door was far enough away that what was said outside the window would not reach the door. Amrie hadn't heard the exchange between Calai and Hiei.

Silence pervaded momentarily while both the yokai and the human attempted to decide what to do.

Hiei leaned towards his captive and whispered, "Don't move."

Blade still dangerously close to Calai's vital organ, Hiei focused on the barred window, melting the metal bars with his ki. The child, too anxious to see the sky again to notice how odd it was that the bars melted away with Calai out of sight, climbed out of her cell and onto the soft dirt of the outside. It was only after her "escape" that Amrie saw Mukuro's second in command.

Faster than Calai could see, the yokai's blade was pressed against the child's neck.

"I suppose you know what I'm going to say," he said, face stoic and voice steady.

Calai nodded. "If I don't tell you where to find my partners, you'll kill her. That's a cheap stunt to pull; I would've thought it beneath one as 'honorable' as you're said to be."

She almost thought that she saw a flash of anger in the yokai's eyes, but Calai decided that she must have imagined it, for the compassionless expression on his face seemed more or less unchanged.

"I've been ordered to recapture you and get you to talk," Hiei said. "Whatever is required for that…"

"Calai…," the child's eyes were tearful and her body was shaking with fear.

Calai had promised her allies that she would never reveal their whereabouts or any other information that might be asked of her. She never broke a promise; honor was very important to her.

But not this important.

"Momma," the child whispered, closing her eyes so as not to see death.

Calai sighed in defeat. "You'll have to let her go first."

Hiei narrowed his eyes, keeping the blade on the child.

"I won't talk until she's safe."

The yokai open his mouth to respond, but abruptly closed it and took a few steps away from the little girl, sheathing his sword.

Before she could reach the child to tell her to go, a burning golden light brushed past Calai, knocking her to the ground.

She didn't see what happened, but a dark feeling in the pit of her stomach told her what had occurred. Filled with dread, Calai lifted her face from the ground, viewing the scene.

A scorch mark made an ashy trail on the ground leading to where Amrie had been standing. The scent of burnt flesh reached Calai's nose and her dread turned to nausea. Pieces of skeleton covered in bits of the burnt skin decorated the spot where Amrie had been standing moments before.

"God," Calai said, her eyes brimming with tears. "God, no. Not her, not again." Calai turned to Hiei, her eyes full of tears and anger. But he wasn't looking at her.

The yokai's eyes were focused on a point somewhere in the woods surrounding the cells. "Was that fully necessary?" he questioned the shadows coolly.

"Perhaps not," Mukuro's voice answered. The human slid her gaze to the direction that Hiei had been looking in to see the demoness approaching her ally. She threw a deadly glare in Calai's direction before addressing Hiei again. "But what does it matter. After all, it was just another human. We would've had to kill her anything, especially if she was going to turn out anything like her parents."

Mukuro leaned over to meet Calai's eyes. "How do you feel now, hm? That whole family is dead because you decided to give me the silent treatment. I imagine that's got to be unpleasant. If you care. You know, if you hadn't run off, that little girl might still be alive. What do you say about that?"

The demoness pulled Calai roughly to her feet, still watching her and awaiting an answer.

"Damn you," Calai hissed venomously. "Damn you back to whatever hell you came from."

"Such a sweet compliment from you," Mukuro smiled, shoving Calai towards Hiei. "Lock her back up. Maybe Miss Calai will feel like cooperating tomorrow." Mukuro vanished; Hiei took hold of Calai's arm, wordlessly leading her around to the gates of the dungeon.

Despite how she tried to hold them in, tears burned Calai's face, making tracks down her cheeks.

"It's my fault," she whispered to herself more in anger than regret.

Hiei wrenched open the door to a cell smaller than the one that Calai and Amrie had been staying in before and shoved Calai inside. Even as he was closing the heavy wood and metal door, he felt cold silver eyes boring into him.

She stumbled to the door and stood watching the yokai between the bars on the door as he left the dungeon. Oh, if he knew how much she hated him right now….

When Hiei had left and there remained no one to be seen, Calai slid the grill on her cell door shut and made her way to a corner on the far end of the cell, where she curled up and let everything that she had felt over that day wash back over her as she drifted into an uneasy and restless sleep.

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**End Part Three**


	8. Interlude: Requiem

**Prisoner of War

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_**Interlude:**_

**Requiem: music to honor the dead

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	9. Weakness

**Prisoner of War**

**Part Four: Weakness

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Morning came too soon, and Calai found herself face down on the floor at the foot of Mukuro's throne. Dark hair shielded her eyes from the tyrant's view as Mukuro surveyed the human from her seat.

"My, you're well behaved today," Mukuro said in an icy tone, slowly rising from her throne. "Maybe we'll finally be able to stop going through this monotony everyday." She ambled to the human, victory apparent on her face. Mukuro leaned over to be on level with Calai and whispered in the girl's ear. "Don't pretend that you don't care. You want to be free just as much as I want to squash the rebellion." The demoness stood again, her tall frame shadowing Calai. "Now, why don't you just go ahead and start talking?"

The human had been silent until this point, seemingly subdued by the events of the past twenty-four hours. "You'll get nothing from me," the girl said calmly, her eyes still hidden behind her hair.

"What was that?" Mukuro demanded.

Calai lifted herself from the floor and looked the demoness in the eyes, showing none of the fear she had revealed the night before. "I won't tell you anything unless you let me give Amrie a proper burial."

Silence hung in the air for a few moments while the yokai present took time to digest what had just been said—even Hiei raised an eyebrow. "What exactly do you mean?" Mukuro snarled.

"Just what I said. You won't get anything from me unless you let me bury the little girl you killed."

"Ridiculous!" the demoness laughed. "Why should I do anything? It's your fault the girl is dead."

The hint of truth in Mukuro's statement caused a spark of anger to course through Calai, but she hid it well. "I won't talk unless I can bury her," she repeated evenly.

A murmur of surprise rippled through the few yokai present.

"Unbelievable," Mukuro hissed to Hiei. "All that and she still thinks she can make demands."

"Maybe we should give her this one," he replied quietly surveying the human. "It isn't much of a price all things considered."

"I will not give into the demands of a human!" Mukuro said.

"Then you won't find the rebels," the Hiei said with a shrug. "She's not lying about this: if she doesn't get what she wants, she won't talk."

"What makes you think that?"

Hiei shrugged again. "Intuition."

The demoness let out a growl of frustration. "Very well. You can bury the child. But you will come to me afterwards and you _will_ give the location of your partners. Hiei, you go with her. Make sure she does what she's told."

* * *

Rain had made the ground softer and the digging easier, which was lucky as, though Calai had been granted permission to bury Amrie's remains, she had not been given any help. The only other being present was Hiei, and he was offering no assistance.

Calai had done the best she could, considering the situation, to give her young friend a respectable resting place, finding a rare field with flowers growing in it to use as the graveyard and a fine piece of centuries old obsidian for a grave marker. With more care and tenderness than she thought she possessed, Calai lowered the body into the grave and covered it.

Hiei watched the girl's work with little interest; he was only there to keep her from running off again, after all. As he watched her work, the girl was covered more and more in the mud. It didn't make sense to him that anyone would go through such trouble for someone who was dead, but then, he had never really understood humans.

By the time Amrie was buried, Calai was nearly indistinguishable from the freshly turned mud and silently crying. Without a word, the girl stood and trudged over to her yokai overseer, silver eyes downcast.

"From that display it's hard to believe that it took so long to get you to talk," Hiei said. "The weak usually make good informants."

"What do you know about weak or strong?" the girl bit back. "If showing some feeling when I'm burying one of my friends is your idea if weakness…. Hell, why am I bothering talking to you? It's not like it'll make any difference."

Hiei watched the girl for a moment, surprised that she had had the will to speak to him in that way but not surprised by what she said.

"My whole family is dead now, you know that?" she said, glancing back at the grave. "My parents, cousins, everyone." Silver eyes full of barely suppressed rage glared into Hiei's face. "When is going to be enough?" Calai demanded. "What more do you want from me? What else can you take?"

The yokai didn't respond but turned and began walking back to the fortress, motioning for the girl to follow.

Still furious, Calai stayed where she was, calling after the yokai. "It's your fault. You don't even realize it, but it is; I know. And when everything you've done hits you, I hope it hurts."

At first, when she saw how quickly Hiei had turned to face her after her comments, Calai thought that she had finally gone too far, and she shied away from him, awaiting whatever he was going to do to her. But he didn't do anything to her.

"We have to get back to Mukuro," he said as if the girl hadn't said anything to him. "She said you could bury the child and you've done that. Come on. Now."

And the yokai began walking once again in the direction of the fortress; this time, Calai followed him.

* * *

The crowd that had been in the throne room when Calai had been brought in that morning had dissipated, finding other means of entertainment; Mukuro was alone when Hiei returned, the human girl trailing silently behind him. The girl stood before the throne; Hiei joined Mukuro on the slightly raised platform.

"So," Mukuro said. "You got what you asked for, the little girl is buried. Now you have to hold up your end of the deal."

Mukuro waited for the girl to speak, but she did not; her eyes remained downcast and her hands were clenched into fists.

"You know the question," Mukuro stated. "So give the answer: who were you helping and where are they hiding?"

Hiei watched the human with interest, waiting for what she would do—he half expected her to tell them to kill her, but when the girl heaved a sigh, he knew that wasn't what she was planning on doing.

"Alright." Her voice was barely audible. "I'll tell you."

With every name that she spoke, speech seemed to become more difficult for her, and Hiei, though he hadn't wanted to, began to notice this. Her words from earlier were creeping their way back into his mind.

_"It's your fault. You don't even realize it, but it is; I know."_

The fire yokai shook the thoughts from his mind.

It was a good thing that he had never known guilt in his life, because if he had, he might have felt it then.

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End Part Four.**


	10. Interlude: Murderer

**Prisoner of War

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_**Interlude:**_

**Murderer: one who kills, or murders, another

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	11. Perception

**Prisoner of War**

**Part Five: Perception**

_**(Italics type signals memory/dream sequence)

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Since Calai's escape attempt, Mukuro kept two sentinels at the human's cell door constantly. It really wasn't necessary: Calai had not the heart to try to escape again, not to mention the fact that her allies would not allow her, the one who told Mukuro where to find them, to rejoin them. There was nothing worth escaping for.

The guards did not mind the appointment; it took very little to keep Calai in line now, and they weren't about to refuse such an easy job. Much of their time was spent lounging outside the cell doors and wallowing in whatever liquor was most readily available. It was during one of their nightly drink-fests that their boss's second in command came to the dungeons with an odd request.

Hiei was more than a little disgusted by the guards' conduct—or lack there of. Both of them were passed out on the floor at the time of his arrival; the fire yokai nudged one of them with his foot, triggering little more than a grunt from the unconscious sentinel. His second attempt at waking the guard was less passive: a black boot to the face brought the alcohol-saturated guard back to consciousness.

"Nice to know how dedicated you to are," the fire yokai said sardonically. "Get up."

Still in a daze, the guard scrambled to his feet and pulled himself into a clumsy attention.

Eyes narrowed in contempt, Hiei held out one hand. "Give me the key to this cell. Then make yourself scarce for a while."

"But sir," the guard said with some difficulty, "no one's supposed to see this girl. Mukuro's orders—"

"You think I don't know Mukuro's orders?" Hiei spat. "Just give me the damn key and leave."

Even in his addled state, the guard knew better than to refuse a direct order from the fire yokai. The guard rummaged through his pocket and pulled out the key, placing it in his superior's hand. Hiei took the key without saying anything. The guard took this as his cue to leave; he grabbed the arms of his unconscious companion and pulled him along as he left the fire yokai alone.

Once he was certain that the guards had left, Hiei slid the grill on the cell door open and peered in at Calai.

She was curled into a tight ball on the floor of her cell, clearly asleep, using her hair as a pillow.

For someone who caused so much trouble, she seemed almost…fragile.

Maybe that was why he had come to the dungeons at that ridiculously late hour that evening. This girl didn't make sense.

And it bothered him.

He unlocked the cell door and crept in, making as little noise as possible: the last thing he needed was for her to wake up.

The girl gave no indication that she was aware of his arrival; she just kept on sleeping, even as he approached her.

Hiei knelt on the floor beside the girl, watching her with narrowed eyes as she slept. After a few moments of observation, the fire yokai removed the white bandana that was wrapped around his forehead and revealed the jagan eye on his forehead. He tucked the bandana into his pocket with one hand and placed the other on sleeping girl's face. The jagan began to glow a crimson shade, and images from the girl's past began to flood Hiei's mind.

* * *

_A group of nine or ten humans surrounded Calai and two others murmuring encouragements and warnings._

_"You'll be fine, really. No one's been caught before."_

_"Keep vigilant. You never know what those damn yokai will do. You can't afford to be caught."_

_"Take everything seriously. It's dangerous out there."_

_The three humans nodded each chocking back fear._

_"Alright," one of the three said. "Let's go."_

_The memory melted away and gave way to another_

* * *

_"Calai, run! For God's sake, run!"_

_There were so many explosions—the bursts of light were blinding her, but she tried to run none the less. She might have gotten away._

_If she hadn't looked back._

_"Oh God," Calai breathed, seeing that her two companions had been cornered. She turned and began running back towards them._

_A well aimed explosion knocked the girl off her feet, forcing her into the darkness of unconciousness._

* * *

_It hardly seemed as though it had been a week ago that she saw them. As a prisoner, she had been forced to watch the executions of her friends._

_A doctor and a teacher._

_The doctor and teacher whose executions Hiei himself had been present at._

_Executions that he had ordered._

* * *

Hiei had not yet removed his hand when Calai woke. It took a moment for her to realize who it was touching her, and when she did realize it, her eyes blazed in anger.

"Get your hand off me you bastard," she hissed, pulling herself into a sitting position and brushing his hand away. The girl glared at him—he knew she must've had some inkling as to what he had done.

"You saw them," she said, her voice coated with loathing.

Hiei made no response.

"Like I said, it's your fault," she said. "But I guess that doesn't mean anything to you, does it? After all, you let your boss kill a little girl that had done nothing to you."

Still Hiei said nothing.

And it pissed her off.

"God, what is it with you?" she demanded. "What does all this bloodshed do for you?" She paused, glaring at him silently.

"It must be something that only murderers would understand," she said at last.

In a flash of black, Hiei pinned Calai to the nearest wall, one hand wrapped around her throat. "You," he hissed tightening his grip on the girl's throat, "know _nothing_ of murder."

He released the girl, allowing her to slide down the wall to the floor of the cell. With not a word more, he stormed out the door and slammed it shut behind him.

Calai wrapped her arms around herself, relieved that she was still alive.

At least for now.

* * *

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End Part Five**


	12. Interlude: Regret

**Prisoner of War

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_**Interlude:**_

**Regret: grief or pain tinged with emotion; remorse

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	13. Pity

**Prisoner of War**

**Part Six: Pity**

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"Keeping this human alive will only lead to trouble, Mukuro-sama, you must understand—"

"I'll agree that the girl is a pain in the ass," Mukuro said, motioning for her advisor to take a seat. "Probably more pain than she's worth. But she's surely not a threat to us."

A frown creased the advisor's face. "Perhaps not on her own. But what if she managed to rally other humans to her cause, convince the rest of the humans that an uprising would be a good idea? Yes, we could beat them easily, but is it really worth the fight when we can just kill her now and be done with it?"

"How can she rally the humans when she's in the dungeons? All her death would accomplish for us would be a rise in the humans' resentment for us. If anything, _that_ will cause a riot."

"She's smart for a human, Mukuro-sama."

The tyrant closed her eyes in thought. "That's true," she muttered. "The last time I underestimated her she nearly got away from us."

"Quite a feat for a human."

"Yes… quite a feat indeed."

Mukuro's advisor leaned forward in his seat. "Should such a human be granted life? That's all I ask, Mukuro-sama. Can we afford to let this girl live?"

"Perhaps not," Mukuro sighed. "No," she said after a pause. "No, she'll have to be gotten rid of. Get Hiei for me."

The advisor rose, bowed and backed out of the throne room solemnly.

* * *

Moonlight gave the tree a silver outline and shed the slightest bit of light on its occupant, who otherwise would've been made invisible by the shadows. The advisor barely saw Hiei reclining in the upper bows of the massive tree, but the fire yokai seemed to make a habit of retreating to the courtyard trees in the evenings.

Before the advisor had reached the base of the tree, Hiei had sensed him. "What does she want?" he asked, closing his eyes.

"All do respect, sir, I believe Mukuro-sama wants to tell you that herself."

Hiei suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "Fine," he said. "Can you tell me what this relates to, or do you think she wants to tell me that in person too?"

"Something about that human girl in the dungeons," the advisor replied.

The fire yokai cracked one eye open. "What about her?"

The advisor smiled but gave no response.

Sighing in frustration, Hiei leapt from the treetop, landing next to the advisor. "Fine, fine. I'm going."

With no further word to the advisor, Hiei ambled towards the fortress.

* * *

A creaking sound indicated Hiei's entrance to the throne room; Mukuro motioned for her attendants to go away as he approached.

"Did he tell you why I wanted to see you?" she asked as the last of the maids exited the room.

"No," he said. "Why?"

Mukuro ambled to a table on which sat a bottle of wine and a goblet; she poured herself a glass and took a swig before answering. "Calai."

Hiei nodded. "He did mention her."

"But he didn't say what this was about?"

"No. I think he just likes being vague."

"Maybe."

"So what do you want?"

"Do you think Calai has the potential to be a danger?"

"Maybe. 'Intelligent humans are dangerous,' right?"

"Yes. Yes. Here's what I want, Hiei. I want you to kill her."

Hiei raised an eyebrow. "Why not just execute her like you have the rest?"

"Too much trouble. I need her dead, and I need it to be discreet. Can you—will you—do that for me?"

The fire yokai studied Mukuro's face for a few moments before answering. "Yeah. I can do that."

* * *

This made his second time "visiting" the dungeons in less than a week.

Frankly, he didn't like that. But what could he do?

The guards weren't at their posts—probably off drinking again—that would make things easier; he didn't have to explain anything.

Hiei eased open the door to the cell.

She seemed to have gained a sense of caution since he had last come to her cell; instead of sleeping curled up in the middle of the floor, he saw her leaning into the corner opposite the door of the cell, her silver eyes watching him evenly.

"I must make for good entertainment. It hasn't even been a week yet." She narrowed her eyes. "You wanted to see some more of my memories?"

"No," he said truthfully.

Calai raised an eyebrow. "Then what do you want?"

Hiei drew his katana out of its sheath as he approached.

The girl's face showed no surprise. "She sent you to kill me?" A soft smile played across her lips. "I was wondering when this would happen."

Once again, the blade of the katana was resting at her throat, though this time there wasn't the slightest trace of fear on her face. If anything, she looked content.

"Just get it over with," she said, her eyes never leaving his.

Hiei pulled the sword back, preparing to skewer the girl on the cold steel. He sent the blade forward. Or tried.

_"You don't even realize it, but it's true; I know it."_

The tip of the blade barely pierced the brick of the wall scarcely an inch from Calai's neck. Her eyes drifted to the tip of the sword, then looked back to its wielder.

"Why?" she asked quietly. "Why didn't you just kill me?"

"Would you rather I had?" he snapped, pulling the sword from the wall and replacing it in its sheath.

"Well, no, not really."

"Then just consider yourself to be one very lucky human."

The girl stared at him, mouth open in shock. "What the hell is going on?" she asked.

Hiei had already begun walking to the door of the cell, trying not to think about how he had just betrayed Mukuro. "If you don't want to get caught, you need to get at least to the other end of the woods by morning," he said. "Don't expect for your luck to last if you stay here. I didn't kill you. Someone else might."

And so he was gone. Calai stood rooted to the spot, mouth still agape, staring after him before she realized what he had done.

The cell door was wide open.

There were no guards.

What the hell was she standing around for?

After peeking down the corridor to see if some trap had been laid, Calai broke into a run, not stopping or looking back until she was deep into the woods.

* * *

**

* * *

End Part Six**


	14. Interlude: Reconcile

**Prisoner of War

* * *

**

_**Interlude:**_

**Reconcile: to restore to friendship or harmony

* * *

**


	15. Help

**Prisoner of War**

**Part Seven: Help

* * *

**

She could hear the search party combing the area for her. They were looking everywhere. Except the woods—not a single guard came near the woods.

Weird. Good, but weird.

From her vantage point in the treetop, Calai could see part of the fortress's courtyard; it was crawling with guards.

And not the liquor sponges that had been watching her before, either.

Calai leapt down from the tree with the intent to get as far away from the fortress as she could. But something stopped her.

Or rather, someone stopped her.

"Oh God, not you again," she said, taking a step back from the yokai before her. "You've really got to stop stalking me. It's not polite, you know."

Hiei was thoroughly unamused. "I thought I told you to get to the other side of the woods."

"You did," Calai said. "I figured you'd have somebody waiting for me there, and I really didn't want to die so…yeah. What's it to you anyways?"

"You'd best leave if you don't want them to find you."

Calai raised an eyebrow. "What? They'll kill me if they find me, right? Just like you tried to kill me last night."

The fire yokai didn't reply.

"Yeah. About that," she said. "Why did you miss? It would've been an easy kill."

"I meant to miss."

"I figured. What made you decide to let me live?"

"It's not too late to change my mind."

Calai put her hands up in mock surrender. "Okay, you don't want to talk about that. You could've just said so. So do you have a reason for finding me or did you just want one more chance to threaten me?"

"You need to get away from here," the yokai said.

"As if I didn't know that. It's not that easy, you know?"

"There's a safe house once you get through these woods. None of the others know about it. Go there."

Calai raised an eyebrow. "How do I know you're not just sending me to a death trap?"

"I didn't kill you before."

"Well, no—"

"I haven't tried to kill you since we've been talking."

"Fair point. Alright, I'll go to this safe house. Do you know who runs it?"

"Some old acquaintances of mine."

Voices reached his ears as Hiei finished this statement. "You need to go. Don't expect me to save your ass again."

* * *

"Damn woods…" Calai mumbled, attempting to brush the dust and brambles off of her tattered and dirty clothes. After muttering a few choice obscenities to clear her temper, the human closed her eyes trying to recall the directions to the safe house.

Oh, right. The damn yokai hadn't given her directions.

"Way to be vague," she said, crossing her arms across her chest in frustration.

"Hey, you lost?" a masculine voice asked, coming perilously close to giving Calai a heart attack.

She turned abruptly to the direction on the voice and saw a young man about her age with brown eyes and dark hair studying her, eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"I asked if you were lost," he said smirking.

"Well… I guess I am," Calai admitted. "I was told that there's a safe house near here. You know about it?"

The young man's smirk grew slightly more pronounced as he answered. "Yeah, I know about it. Follow me; I'll show you where it is."

* * *

The safe house would've been better titled as a safe shack—it looked nearly uninhabitable.

But, as the cliché goes, beggars can't be choosers.

Especially beggars with search parties after them.

The young man led Calai inside the building, past dozens of other humans, into the center room of the house where two other men sat at a table, appearing deep in discussion.

"Yo, guys," the young man leading Calai called as the two of them approached. "We got a new one."

Both of the other men looked up at Calai and the young man with expressions of curiosity.

"Where'd you find her, Yusuke?" one of them—a handsome man with green eyes—asked the young man standing next to Calai.

"Outside the woods," Yusuke replied. "You got a name?" he asked Calai.

"Calai," she said looking around the room. "Um… nice place you got here."

"It's not much," the green eyed man smiled. "We do what we can. My name's Kurama, by the way. And that," he gestured to the third man, "is Kuwabara."

Calai nodded politely to Kuwabara, before looking back to Kurama. "Nice to meet you guys."

"Before we let you know anything else, Miss Calai," Kurama said, rising from his seat at the table, "Could you please tell us how you found out about the safe house?"

Calai's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Kurama smiled. "We ask everyone who comes here. Just to make sure the wrong people don't know where we are."

"That makes sense," Calai said. "Actually, a yokai told me about this place. He said that you knew him."

Yusuke frowned. "That's new. Who was he?"

"His name's Hiei," Calai replied.

Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara exchanged looks of apprehension.

"Hiei," Kurama said. "You're sure that it was him?"

"Yeah. Works for Mukuro, favors a katana, total pain in the ass. Hiei."

"That can't be good for us," Kuwabara said; Kurama and Yusuke nodded in agreement.

* * *

**

* * *

End Part Seven**


	16. Interlude: Trust

**Prisoner of War

* * *

**

_**Interlude:**_

**Trust: to commit or place in one's care or keeping

* * *

**


	17. Follow

**Prisoner of War**

**Part Eight: Follow

* * *

**

"Let's go over this again," Kurama said, closing the door to the center room. He returned to the table rubbing his temples wearily. "A human prisoner of Mukuro's shows up here telling us that Hiei told her where we are."

"Just sounds like we're screwed to me," Yusuke said bluntly. "If Hiei knows where we are then Mukuro does to. And if Mukuro knows where we are…."

Kurama sighed. "I can't say that I disagree."

"If Hiei knows where we are, why hasn't he come here yet?" Kuwabara asked. "How easy would it be for someone like him to take us out of the picture?"

"Probably pretty damn easy." Yusuke drummed his fingers on the table. "I think we need to just assume that Mukuro's armies are going to be on our doorstep any minute. What do we do when that happens?"

"Good question," Kurama said. "No answer."

"Maybe we should just leave," Kuwabara suggested. "You know, find a new place."

"You wanna tell all of them that?" Yusuke said, pointing to the door of the room. "They're not going to want to have to pick up and go again. They came here to avoid that. Besides, how are we supposed to move so many people on such short notice?"

"Alright, alright," Kuwabara sighed. "So we can't leave. We've gotta do something."

Silence hung in the air as each of the three men wrestled with their thoughts.

"It doesn't quite make sense," Kurama said finally. "If Hiei knew where we are and wanted to get rid of us, why didn't he come himself? Why send Calai?"

Yusuke shrugged. "Distraction, maybe? Or maybe she just overheard him saying where we are?"

"I don't think so. The way she said it… it sounded like he told her where to go," Kurama frowned. "We should be prepared for anything. There's no telling what the plan is."

"You think Calai might know what's going on?" Kuwabara asked.

Kurama raised an eyebrow. "Maybe. Why?"

"She's been listening at the door," Kuwabara said. "Maybe knows something about all this."

Yusuke and Kurama shared a look of surprise; Kuwabara rose to his feet and ambled to the door. He pulled the door open to reveal Calai standing, just as he had said, behind it with the look of someone who'd been caught in the act.

"Um… hi," was her witty response.

Kurama grinned. "Nice to see you again. I don't suppose you need to be filled in on the conversation, do you?"

"I guess not," Calai said.

The grin fell from Kurama's face and was replaced by an expression of seriousness. "Would you tell us what you know of Hiei's intentions?"

Calai shrugged. "I don't really know." She entered the room, brushing past Kuwabara and taking a seat at the table where Kurama and Yusuke sat. "It didn't seem like he had any. He just kind of… told me to come here."

"That doesn't help much," Yusuke sighed.

"I know that what I think may not mean all that much to you," Calai said, "but I don't think he's going to attack you. I don't think he wants to."

"Listen lady," Kuwabara said, "maybe you don't get this. Hiei is a yokai. And a vicious one."

The girl looked away from the three men. "I know that. But… still, I don't think he's going to come after you. I couldn't say why, but…. Well, that's just what I think."

Kurama, Kuwabara and Yusuke exchanged glances. Either Hiei had turned a new leaf or this girl was completely out of her mind.

And both options had distinct probability.

A pounding on the door of the room pulled all four of them out of their silence.

"Come in," Kurama called, watching Calai out of the corner of his eye.

The door creaked open and a small boy peeked inside.

"Sorry," the little boy said. "Mommy sent me. She said to tell you that there's some man that just came. She said he's hurt pretty bad."

The four of them charged out to the main room of the house.

Half of the house's occupants had rushed to see what had happened. Blood was smeared on the floor. The little boy pointed to the corner of the room where the blood trail led; the man that he had mentioned seemed to be sitting there trying to catch his breath.

Whispers were spreading through the occupants, who were now steadily backing away from the man in the corner.

A woman snuck over to Kurama and tugged on his sleeve. When he looked to her, she whispered to him, "He's a yokai, Kurama-san. I know it; he has to be."

"We'll see if his is, miss," Kurama replied, making his way over to the man in the corner. Yusuke, Kuwabara and Calai followed him.

Calai was the first to recognize him. "Oh my God." She fell to her knees beside him, inspecting his injuries.

Kurama was next, and a sharp intake of breath from him told Yusuke and Kuwabara the identity of the man in the corner.

"Hiei," Yusuke breathed. "What the hell are you doing here?"

* * *

**End Part Eight**


	18. Interlude: Compassion

**Prisoner of War

* * *

**

_**Interlude:**_

**Compassion: sympathetic consciousness of other's distress together with a desire to alleviate it

* * *

**


	19. Repayment

**Prisoner of War**

**Part Nine: Repayment

* * *

**

The crowd had dispersed; only Kurama, Yusuke, Kuwabara and Calai remained with the wounded yokai.

"Well," Yusuke said, glaring at Hiei. "Why are you here?"

Hiei returned Yusuke's unfriendly gaze but didn't answer.

"The better question," Kurama said, "is why are you here alone?"

Still Hiei did not respond.

Calai gave a frustrated sigh. "For God's sake, are you three just going to let him bleed all over the floor? Go get some bandages, antiseptics, something!"

For a moment, Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara stared at her for a moment in shock.

"Calai," Kurama began cautiously, "I don't think you realize—"

"I realize that he needs help," the girl snapped. "That's all I need to know. Now go get the bandages."

The three men looked at each other then back at Calai.

"What the hell are you waiting for?" she shouted. "Go!"

As Yusuke, Kurama and Kuwabara left, Calai turned her attention to Hiei. "How did you do this to yourself, huh?" she asked, kneeling beside him.

"That's none of your business," he said.

Calai rolled her eyes. "Here I am trying to help you and you're still being a pain in the ass. If I don't know what's wrong, I can't help fix it."

Kurama returned with a handful of bandages and a bottle of peroxide. He handed them to Calai, frowning.

"I know you don't trust me," she as she opened the peroxide. "You're welcome to stay in here and keep an eye on me if you want."

Not bothering to answer, Kurama took a seat on the couch at the other end of the room.

Hiei glared at the human girl. "I don't need your help."

"Yeah, sure," Calai scoffed. "Forgive me, but the large bloody gash on your stomach would say otherwise." She reached for the wound with a piece of peroxide soaked gauze.

The yokai's firm grip wrapped around her wrist and pulled her hand away from him.

"I said I don't need your help."

"And I said I don't care whether you think you need it or not." Calai pulled her hand free and placed the gauze on Hiei's wound.

"So," she said, cleaning the wound. "What happened?"

"I don't have to tell you."

"Fine, then. Don't."

Yusuke peeked in the room. "Hey, Kurama, we need to talk to you for a minute."

With a glance to Hiei and Calai, Kurama rose from the couch and ambled to the hallway, where Kuwabara and Yusuke waited for him.

"We have a real issue here, Kurama," Yusuke said without a moment's preamble. "Even if Hiei hasn't led anyone here—which I still think he did—it'll only be a matter of time before Mukuro finds him. And us. What should we do?"

Kurama looked back into the main room where Calai continued to clean and dress Hiei's wounds. "I'm really not sure. That's a decision that has to be made carefully. It'll take time."

"What if we don't have time?" Kuwabara asked.

* * *

"There," Calai said happily as she taped the last bandage down. "Better?"

Hiei looked away from her. "Hn."

The girl rolled her eyes. "I'll just take that as a yes." She began clearing up the bandage wrappers and the bits of unused gauze, not noticing that Hiei was watching her.

"Why?" he said.

Calai stopped gathering the trash and looked at him. "Why what?"

The yokai stared at her, eyes narrowed in a puzzled fashion.

"What?" she asked the slightest bit unnerved by his stare. "What?"

"Why are you helping me?"

She tilted her head to one side, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I dunno," she said after a moment. "Maybe I'm just too nice."

"You shouldn't help me."

Calai smiled. "I know that."

"Then why are you?"

"I want to."

"That doesn't answer the question."

Calai began picking up the trash again, thinking about how to answer him.

"I guess I'm helping you," she said, "because… because I feel like I owe you for not killing me in the cell."

"That's not a good reason."

Calai shrugged. "I know." She smiled cockily. "But it's not like it's too late for me to change my mind."

Wrappers and gauze bits in hand, Calai left the room, smiling.

* * *

**

* * *

End Part Nine**


	20. Interlude: Change

**Prisoner of War**

_**

* * *

**_

Interlude:

**Change: to make radically different

* * *

**


	21. Abandon

**Prisoner of War**

**Part Ten: Abandon

* * *

**

"Mukuro-sama?" the advisor questioned delicately. When he received no response, he assumed it safe to continue. "The guards you sent to find Hiei have returned. They found nothing."

"He must not want to be found," Mukuro said darkly. "What I don't understand is why he disappeared. He's never left without warning."

The advisor cleared his throat. "Perhaps it has something to do with the human's disappearance?"

"You think he went looking for her?" Mukuro questioned rounding on the advisor. "Why didn't he say so?"

Shaking his head, the advisor replied, "I wasn't suggesting that he went after her."

"Then what were you suggesting?"

The advisor cleared his throat again before answering. "Mukuro-sama, if I recall correctly, you sent Hiei to kill the human the night before she disappeared."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"He went to the cell that night—I have confirmation from the sentinels at the dungeon gates. The girl's escape wasn't reported until the following morning. There's no evidence that she was wounded, no blood trails, nothing. Someone helped her escape."

Mukuro was silent for a moment. "You think that Hiei helped her escape?"

"It appears that way, Mukuro-sama."

Again, the yokai lord stood in silence, eyes closed in a mixture of thought and anger. "No," she said finally. "I refuse to believe that. That damn human has planned this." She rounded on the advisor dangerously. "If anyone helped her, it's you. You want me to turn against Hiei." The tyrant wrapped a strong hand around the advisor's throat. "He wouldn't betray me."

Her grip tightened around the advisor's neck.

"And you're a fool to try to make me think he did."

A snapping sound rung through the throne room.

The advisor stopped moving.

Mukuro tossed the now lifeless body to the floor unceremoniously. "Now," she said, stepping over the advisor's body. "I'll just have to find them myself, won't I?"

* * *

The occupants of the safe house crowded around the closed doors of the house's main room struggling to hear the conference that was going on inside. 

Three leaders, a runaway human and a yokai….

* * *

"I still don't understand what the big deal is," Calai said, crossing her arms in frustration. "I mean, if Mukuro knew where you guys were, wouldn't she have done something by now?" 

"Not if she thought we'd expect it," Yusuke said coldly.

Hiei shook his head. "Nearly every human Mukuro wants dead is here. She wouldn't waste time on strategy."

"Maybe you just want us to believe that," Kuwabara said. "Maybe that's just part of your cover story. I bet she's on her way here right now."

"No," Kurama frowned. "She's still occupied with looking for Calai from what I hear. But it won't be long before the search leads her here." Kurama turned to Hiei. "Hiei, we've known each other for a long time—since before this whole war. But I understand that you'd have a lot to gain from turning us in—"

"We have known each other for a long time," Hiei said. "That's why I didn't tell her where you are. I owe that much to you."

Kurama and Yusuke both smiled.

"Good to know that honor code of yours is still intact," Yusuke said. "What was it? 'Never abandon an ally for the sake of power'?"

"That still doesn't answer why you're here," Kuwabara frowned.

The yokai glanced to Calai before answering. "I let someone that I was supposed to kill go. I'm a traitor to her now."

"So she'll be looking for you?" Calai asked.

"There's no question of that," Kurama stated. "She'll have the whole army out looking for him."

"Whoa, not good," Yusuke said. "What if she traces him to the house? She'll just kill two birds with one stone."

Kuwabara nodded. "Yeah, and there's no way that we can stand up to her whole army. Not even if everyone in the house helped."

"Which is why I'm leaving," Hiei said, rising from his seat.

"Wait," Calai said. "If you leave, she'll find you."

"And if I stay she'll find all of you," the yokai replied, making his way towards the door.

Calai rose to her feet and followed the yokai to the door. "Hiei, she won't… she'll…. God, Hiei, if she finds you, you'll die."

The yokai was silent for a moment, his hand resting on the doorknob.

He turned to look at the girl. "Probably."

"Probably what?"

"I'll probably die."

Hiei turned from Calai, opened the door and disappeared.

* * *

**

* * *

End Part Ten **


	22. Interlude: Search

**Prisoner of War

* * *

**

_**Interlude:**_

**Search: to seek or look to find someone or something

* * *

**


	23. Find

**Prisoner of War**

**Part Eleven: Find**

_**Italics indicates dream/memory sequence

* * *

**_

Dirt crunched beneath Mukuro's feet as she ambled her way through the woods. The guards had missed something—that's what she was counting on, at least. They couldn't find Hiei or the human because they didn't know how to properly search.

But Mukuro could find them.

Mukuro could find anything.

"Damn it," she hissed, coming to a stop in a clearing. This wasn't quite as easy as she had thought it would be.

Damn fire yokai.

The tyrant massaged her temples roughly, trying to think of where Hiei might have gone. Nothing in his demeanor before he left gave any clues.

A thought entered Mukuro's head: perhaps… perhaps Hiei had said where he was going before he even knew that he was going to leave.

That thought gave her the answer.

She had known where he would go since she first met him.

* * *

_He was covered in blood when she first saw him—barely distinguishable from the dead and dying bodies at his feet. _

_But it wasn't the smell of blood that had led her to him. It was another scent._

_A scent of despair._

_Humans and demons alike were covering the ground in the clearing, dying the grass brown with blood._

_He was the only one left alive in the clearing, standing amid the bodies._

_The scent came from him._

_Carefully, she approached him. "Quite a mess here, isn't it?"_

_The other yokai didn't answer._

_"Which side of this fight were you on?"_

_A slight pause met her question. The other yokai turned to meet her eyes. His crimson eyes were narrowed in distrust._

_She laughed. "I'm not going to attack you. I'm just curious as to what happened here."_

_Distrust still apparent on his face, he answered. "The humans were being attacked. They wanted to try to save them."_

_"They? Your friends?_

_"Allies. They used to be."_

_"Are they among the dead?"_

_"No."_

_"No? Then why are they no longer your allies?"_

_He didn't answer but turned back to the battlefield, clenching his fists._

_She frowned. "The humans did something?"_

_For a moment he was silent. "They killed her," he said finally._

_"Her?"_

_"My sister. She wasn't even involved."_

_She nodded knowingly. "The fatal flaw with most humans," she said, walking over to him, "is that they're too stupid and suspicious for their own good. Is that why you killed them?"_

_He nodded._

_"And I suppose your allies didn't care much for that."_

_Another nod._

_"They left you."_

_"They thought I'd died."_

_"I see. Are you going after them?"_

_"… I don't know…."_

_"Well, if you decide not to, let me know. I'm sure I've got a place for you."_

_"Who are you?"_

_She smirked. "Mukuro. Nice to meet you. What was your name?"_

_He narrowed his eyes in distrust but gave her a true answer nonetheless. _

_"Hiei."_

* * *

A smirk creased Mukuro's face. Hiei's old allies… a kitsune, a hanyou and a human, from what she had gotten from him, who ran a safe house for humans. He always claimed not to know where they went; she had assumed that was untrue but didn't push the matter: he was on her side and that was all she needed then. 

Still smiling in grim triumph, Mukuro called to her guards; three of them approached her, bowing timidly.

"Gather some information for me," she said, not bothering with preamble. "Go through all we have on safe houses. I think we'll find what we're looking for there."

The guards bowed to her again, and left to do as they had been commanded.

Mukuro, however, didn't go with them, but made her way deeper into the woods to an old battlefield that she had seen long ago.

* * *

Why had he come here? 

He _hated _it here.

Sighing, Hiei ran a hand absently through his hair.

She'd expect him to come here. That was the intention.

But why the hell did he have to pick a place that he loathed in every possible way?

It didn't matter now. Mukuro would find him here, and it'd be over. Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara would be out of the fire and he'd no longer be a danger to them.

And he could see his sister again.

Maybe dying wouldn't be so bad.

A snapping sound to his left pulled the yokai back into reality. His hand went immediately to the katana at his side and his muscles tensed. Until he heard the muttering.

"Damn woods, this is why it took me so long to find the house."

Calai tumbled into the clearing, muttering every swear known to man and yokai alike under her breath.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Hiei demanded.

"Um… following you," Calai said, walking up to him.

"Leave," he said bluntly.

Calai blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I said leave. Go back to the house if you want. Just leave."

"I'm not leaving. You think I'm gonna let you commit suicide?"

"Yes."

"God, you're stubborn," Calai sighed. "Why—"

The yokai covered her mouth with his hand, telling her to be quiet in a less than subtle way.

A flash of scorching light shot past the two of them burning a tree to the ground beside them. Hiei moved his hand and unsheathed his katana.

One of Mukuro's guards stepped into the clearing, prepared to kill both Hiei and the human girl.

Clearly, he was not prepared enough: in less than a second, the guard was skewered on the tip of Hiei's sword. Hiei shook the body off the sword and sheathed it again, looking back at Calai.

She glared at him. "I'm still not leaving. Not until you tell me why you let me live."

The yokai stared at her for a moment before answering. "I couldn't tell you."

"What do you mean?"

"I… I don't know why."

Calai tilted her head to one side.

Hiei was spared further questioning by what he felt next.

"Mukuro," he breathed.

"What about her?" Calai said.

"She's here. You need to leave."

"But—"

"Leave. _Now_."

Calai hesitated for the slightest of moments. "Be careful," she whispered, slowly backing out of the clearing.

The girl had no sooner disappeared from the clearing when Mukuro stepped out of the shadows, a dark expression on her face.

"Hiei," she said coldly. "I see you've decided to switch allegiance."

* * *

**

* * *

End Part Eleven **


	24. Interlude: Jealous

**Prisoner of War

* * *

**

_**Interlude:**_

**Jealous: to be envious of or covet what another has

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**


	25. Death

**Prisoner of War**

**Part Twelve: Death

* * *

**

"You realize how foolish this is," Mukuro said, approaching Hiei slowly. "There'll be no second chance. I'll kill you."

Hot rage rose in Mukuro when Hiei didn't respond.

"What I don't understand is why," she said. "Why are you doing this? All you had to do was kill a human. It's nothing you haven't done before. What stopped you this time?"

Crimson eyes narrowed dangerously.

"War means death," Mukuro continued. "You know that better than anyone. What is one human life?"

"This was different," Hiei said, drawing his katana.

"There is no such thing as a human whose 'different.' They're all the same."

"Think that if you want. It doesn't change the fact that she's alive."

"Or that you're going to die."

Mukuro, intent to make good on her threat began gathering energy in the palms of her hands, eyes focused on the fire yokai. "This is your fault."

The tyrant released the beam of energy at her former second in command.

Hiei felt the heat from the blast grazing his shoulder. A quick glance told him that he had been scorched by the passing blast. There was a crimson patch growing on his upper arm.

A smirk pulled at the fire yokai's lips.

"Which of us will be able to make themselves kill the other first, I wonder?" he mused to himself, flinging a fistful of fire at Mukuro.

As Mukuro sent a retaliating attack at her opponent, the trees surrounding the clearing burst into bright flames.

Fire and smoke could be seen all the way at the safe house—many of the occupants were watching the destruction from the windows, whispering about the wounded yokai that had appeared at the safe house the day before.

Clearly, someone had to die.

* * *

Calai had gotten back to the safe house just as the clearing started burning. She stood at the door for a moment, mentally debating whether or not to go back. She almost began to race back to the clearing when the door opened.

"What the hell are you doing out there?" Yusuke asked, grabbing the girl's arm and pulling her back inside. "There are yokai crawling all over the place."

"I have to go back," she said, trying to pull away from Yusuke.

"What're you talking about? Back where?"

"Yusuke? Calai? What's going on?" Kurama's voice asked as the kitsune approached. He freed Calai from Yusuke's grasp, but kept a firm hold on her wrist, waiting for her to answer his question.

"She found him—she's gonna kill him! We've got to go—"

"Calai, please, slow down," Kurama said, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Now, what are you trying to say?"

"I followed Hiei," the girl cried. "And Mukuro's found him! She's gonna kill him if he doesn't get some help!"

Kurama and Yusuke exchanged shocked looks.

"I'll get Kuwabara and some of the others," Yusuke said. "We'll go find him."

"I'll go with you," Kurama told Yusuke. Then he turned to Calai being sure that he kept eye contact with her. "Calai, I know you'll want to come with us, but I have to ask you to stay here. Mukuro wants you dead, and going to her would be a foolish thing to do. You'll be safer here. Do you promise not to follow us?"

Calai bit her lip before giving the kitsune a hesitant nod.

"Good," Kurama said. Yusuke, Kuwabara and a few of the house's occupants had come into the main room. "We'll be back soon."

* * *

"God, the whole place is an ash tray," Yusuke muttered as the party reached the clearing. "They burnt the place down good, didn't they?"

Various murmurs of assent met Yusuke's comment.

"It's no good," Kuwabara said. "This fight's over."

Kurama frowned. "One of them is dead. I'm not sure which one, but—"

"But it looks like Hiei got fried," Yusuke said. "We were too late. I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to be the one to have to tell Calai that."

* * *

Mukuro's sentinels were relentless in their attacks.

And no one even knew how they had found the safe house.

Despite the fact that the humans at the house out numbered the yokai, the house was quickly falling, as were the humans. By the time the guards set fire to what was left of the house, the humans that were still there had been killed, their bodies scattered on the ground in and around the house.

By the time the yokai left, there was nothing but ashes.

* * *

Kurama was the first one to notice something. "I smell fire," he said quietly.

"Well, duh," Yusuke replied. "We are in the middle of a burnt down clearing, you know."

"That's not what I mean." Kurama shook his head. "Somewhere else."

The kitsune took off in the direction of the safe house, followed by Yusuke and Kuwabara.

Yusuke swore when he saw the flames. "What the hell's happening?"

"Someone's attacked the house!" Kuwabara yelled, running towards the flames.

The rest came after him, worrying about relatives, friends and loved ones.

The fire was out and the guards were gone by the time they got back. The humans that had been with Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara began combing the ruins for bodies, belongings, anything they could find.

"Damn," Yusuke hissed.

Kuwabara took a deep breath. "The whole thing… it's gone."

"I guess no one has to tell Calai about what happened," Yusuke said bitterly.

* * *

**

* * *

End Part Twelve**


	26. Interlude: Peace

**Prisoner of War

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**

_**Interlude:**_

**Peace: a state of tranquility or quiet; harmony in personal relations

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**


	27. Freedom

**Prisoner of War**

**Part Thirteen: Freedom

* * *

**

It was strange walking through the woods this time. So many things had changed… it was so different.

Probably because half the woods had burned down.

And the whole safe house was gone.

But more than that, there was a sense of… safety, a sense that there hadn't been before. It didn't make a lot of sense, considering the things that had just happened, but there was no worry or fear in the traveling this time.

Calai took a deep breath, taking in the scent of burnt grass and greenery as she continued her walk through the woods, thinking.

All things considered, it was probably a good thing that she didn't listen to Kurama.

Or anyone else, for that matter.

When the attack on the house had occurred, she was somewhere between the clearing and the house. And she was back at the house when the clearing combusted.

How lucky can a person get?

Not as lucky as she wanted to be. After the last of the flames had died down, Calai returned to the clearing hoping to find the fire yokai—looking for some indication that he was still alive.

But she hadn't found anything, and it didn't sit well with her.

She sat on the ash covered ground in the clearing, trying to grasp what had happened.

The house was gone.

She had no where to go.

Hiei was dead.

Life really wasn't looking too great.

"What now?" Calai asked no one in particular. "Everything I had…. God, I'm just screwed. That's it! There's just nothing left for me. I might as well just—"

"Who're you talking to?" a voice questioned.

Startled, Calai turned to the direction of the voice and looked up. "Hiei?"

Without answering, the yokai sat down on the ground next to Calai.

The two of them sat in silence for a few moments, gazing out to what was left of the woods.

Calai was the first to speak. "I thought you were dead."

"Hn. I'm not."

"Obviously. What happened? I mean, after Mukuro found you."

"We fought. The woods caught on fire."

"Yeah, I figured that much out. What happened?"

The yokai didn't say anything.

A realization dawned on Calai. "You killed her."

Still Hiei didn't speak.

"I guess you didn't have much choice," Calai said softly. "Have you seen the safe house?"

He glanced at her. "No."

"It's gone. Completely destroyed."

"Mukuro?"

"No, it happened while you were fighting with her."

"She probably still had something to do with it."

"Maybe."

Silence pervaded over the two of them once again. For no apparent reason, Hiei pulled Calai to her feet and turned her to face him. Then he did something that Calai would never have expected.

The yokai placed a chaste kiss on her lips.

"What was that for?" the girl asked as he pulled away.

"Because you'll never see me again."

Calai blinked. "What?"

She didn't receive an answer. Before the question had fully escaped her lips, the yokai had vanished and she was alone in the ashes of the clearing.

In a way, she understood what he meant.

Everything was starting to get better.

* * *

"Damn, we really did lose everything," Yusuke said, kicking at the ashes at his feet. "When those guys raid a place they really raid it."

"It doesn't look like anyone got away," Kuwabara said, as he and Kurama dug through some of the rubble. "I guess that means we were too late twice today."

Yusuke nodded. "Yeah. Hiei and Calai both…."

"What about me and Hiei?" Calai's voice asked from somewhere behind Yusuke and Kuwabara.

Both of them turned to see Calai ambling to them looking a bit weary and ragged but very much alive.

"Calai!" Yusuke said. "What the hell—we thought you were dead!"

She shrugged. "I'm not. And neither is Hiei, by the way. I just saw him."

"What happened?" Kurama asked, abandoning his digging.

A soft smile lit Calai's features. "I don't really know," she said. "But I think we're gonna be alright now.

"I think everything's gonna be alright."

* * *

**

* * *

End Part Thirteen.**


	28. Postlude: Closure

**Prisoner of War

* * *

**

_**Postlude:**_

**Closure: an end or conclusion, as to a book, story, or fanfiction

* * *

**

**End Prisoner of War**


	29. Author's Notes

**Prisoner of War**

**A fic by Sheepchi**

**Final Author's notes and reviewer thanks

* * *

**

**Author's notes: **Another fic over and done with, and it's been SO FUN. I can't believe it's over…. But it is. C'est la vie, right? Besides, this means that the sequel to "Forgotten" is coming soon. Any who, I think now would be the appropriate time to give my wonderful reviewers their proper thanks, so here goes:

**sillylittlenothing **

**Trickstersthiefgirl**

**ladyYoko**

**Moojuice Nne of the Mayonaisse**

**Rahasia**

**sunflower**

**AnonymusHieiFan101**

**brezzybrez**

**BlueWater26**

**ImParanoid**

**LilPurrfection**

**basejumper**

**AngelofMusic333**

**Yoru Inu**

**chrissy**

**Ummei Genkai**

You guys all rock! I really appreciate the comments and questions, and I hope that the fic answered them all.

As always, it's been real.

All the best,

Sheepchi


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